Pohā
by Meredith McGarrett
Summary: A car accident has serious consequenses for one of team. But as the long road to recovery begins the investigation into the accident turns up some shocking evidence. Was it really an accident or is there more to it? Steve whump and team angst. Pohā means crash.
1. Chapter 1

**Pohā**

Steve blinked dazedly as he slowly recovered from the hard impact.

The first thing Steve noted almost instantly was the headache that lingered beneath his skull and would not go away, no matter how Steve wanted and willed it to go away. Sluggishly his pupils focused again and the grey haze and blurriness gradually dissipated and Steve could see his surroundings more clearly. Although there was not much to see except for a shattered windshield and some deserted road in the middle of O'ahu, trees were lining the road but other than that Steve was unable to see anything else.

The pain was dull but it was there.

Instinctively, Steve touched his forehead, sure enough his hands came back covered in blood. He frowned for a second. This was weird.

How the hell had he gotten that head laceration in the first place. Where the hell was he?

A deserted road, he realized.

Steve was far off from the main highway, he was supposed to drive down the Kamehameha Highway. But this road? This was just a smaller one, which begs the question what he is doing way up here, alone.

Without Danny, his best friend and partner.

Confused, Steve McGarrett glanced at the surrounding area, maybe there was something that would provide him with a clue of where he was. A sharp pain jolted through his chest as he breathed in deeply, more tried to do so.

"Crap." Steve muttered as he remembered that he had taken Danny's car to run down a lead while Danny had to do something. Damn it, he had crashed the Camaro. Steve's eyes rapidly traveled from on side to another, trying to figure out what had happened and where he was. As he moved his head the interior of the wrecked Camaro spun sickeningly aound him, causing him to squeeze his eyes shut to protect them from the overwhelming feeling of dizziness.

Maybe his head injury was more severe than he'd previously thought. Then Steve's thoughts wandered back to Danny, all the while his world slipped in and out of focus.

Danny _loves_ that car.

Steve knew _that_.

But there was nothing he could do to change that now could he?

One thing was for sure, the Jersey detective would not be amused by him wrecking the Camaro, would not like what happened. Steve let out a chuckle, he'd probably get a grade A Danno- rant, telling him how he wrecked the Camaro, how much he liked that car, that Steve is indeed a trouble magnet and that trouble follows him.

He took a deep breath, ignoring the uncomfortable feeling in chest, the pain lacing out across his chest, with every breath he took. Breathing was not supposed to be this painful, Steve's brain sluggishly registered.

Supposably he had broken some ribs, or at least cracked.

He had a headache that was persisting ever since, actually had no idea of when it started but he was positive that it had started after the crash, it was very likely, as his overall crappy situation, intensified suddenly. Steve had not been prepared for it. Flinching he let out a groan, not at all caring about anyone noticing.

Here was _no one_.

Steve was alone on this road.

To make things worse his stomach had also begun to hurt.

When moved he could feel his ribs throb. Rib fractures? _Check._ Groaning and shifting uncomfortably, Steve pressed a hand against his abdomen, hoping it would feel soft and not rigid. Anything other than that could point to internal bleeding. Sluggishly the injured man leaned his head against headrest.

Out of a sudden he felt himself growing tired, closed his eyes, blocked out the pain and his _awesome_ situation.

Steve found it harder and harder to stay conscious.

His head was continually pounding against his skull, the ringing in his ears was definitely nerve- wrecking, it was obvious he had sustained some degree of traumatic brain injury.

 _Stay awake_.

Subconsciously, the SEAL knew he should but this was just too hard, but when had staying conscious ever been such a problem?

Steve had no idea.

It was hard to think. It makes his head hurt even worse.

 _What the hell happened to me?_

However, the increasing nausea and tiredness was debilitating and clouding judgment. Steve blinked to clear his vision as the world once again shifted alarmingly to the side.

He had to get help.

For him. Steve was aware that he had to do something.

 _Just move_.

That is what he told himself.

 _Get moving, find a way out of this and call for help. You can do this, Steve, you're a Navy fricking SEAL._

Steve let out a small grin despite the unrelenting headache among other things he had yet to find out.

 _Come on, I just told you, you stubborn Neanderthal animal. Get out._

 _Move._

Whoa, that sounded like Danny. Steve frowned. Why did the voice in his head sound like Danny? Because he was pretty sure that the feisty Jersey detective wasn't in the car with him despite him driving Danny's Camaro.

But he was not here.

 _Steve, you need to move. You can do this._

"I am fine," Steve insisted, swallowing against the nausea rising in his throat.

 _You're everything but, babe._

A voice in his head told him, surprisingly, the sound of it reminded him of a person he knew and loves dearly.

Danny.

Utterly confused, Steve begins to look around, search for an exit strategy.

But that was proving to be very difficult as he was pinned down in his car that was not in its normal position. Probably he'd be stuck here until rescue arrived and cut him out. Steve feared that fire services would have to cut him from the car but the whole extrication from the, damaged beyond repair, car would only happen if he was able to call for help.

Taking a deep breath and quickly regretting it after the pain shot through his chest. Steve had momentarily forgotten about his injured ribs.

Danny.

His phone. He knew it must have been here somewhere, all he had to do was find it, and speed-dial Danny.

Danny would locate him, send rescue his way.

Steve closed his eyes as a new wave of pain overcame him.

Breathing had also gotten a lot more painful than it had been before, damn car crash, why had it had to happen to him?!

Call Danny. That was now the mission objective.

So that he can have that weekend with Gracie and Danno. All he had to do was await rescue and stay alive until he was found. It is definitely easier said than done. Another thing that did not help him in any way was the fact that he was not on one of the main roads on this island. Because if he was chances are that someone already called it in. But now, his car crashed while driving on a side road, a road rarely used.

He had been looking forward to spending time with Danny and Gracie. Steve _loves_ having them over.

He had made plans: Go take Danny and Grace out for some shave ice at Waiola Shave Ice, maybe make a trip to take Grace and Danny to see the Hālona Blowhole, spend the evening at the Hilton or just at his place for a barbeque with Chin and Kono. After what happened which him, and the resulting the car wreck, the actual possibility of his planned activities actually taking place as Steve had planned was low and chances were getting lower by the minute.

Steve just hoped that he'd still be alive by then.

That Danny wouldn't have to lose him too. But hell, Steve decided right there that he was going to fight and continue to do so.

Steve sighed tiredly, leaning his head against the headrest.

The sigh promptly resulted in a wet cough.

Steve tried to suppress it but wasn't very successful. The cough aggravated his chest injury and the pain resulting from the coughing almost caused him to pass out. Black spots danced in his vision and slowly but steadily he slipped into nothingness.

 _I'm sorry, Danny._ That was his last conscious thought before all of his surroundings greyed out.

Then there was nothing.

Only a car, turned sideways on a slippery side road. One man inside, unmoving.

No one knows what had happened.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50**

Birds were chirping, it was the first thing that Steve noticed as he fought his way back to consciousness.

As soon as he rose to consciousness he instantly felt the pressure on his chest, the pain around his abdominal area but the most prominent was still the constant pressure and aching in his head. He didn't want to open his eyes because the SEAL was sure that it would hurt his eyes. At the very least, he had suffered a concussion and internal injuries. The commander was trapped between the seat and the dashboard. He blinked before attempting to open his eyes.

At first everything was a blurry mess.

He was obviously hurt and if Danny knew what Steve had done to Danny's precious Camaro, he would flip. Steve was almost sure of it. If only his head stopped hurting he would be able to think. But the situation sucks anyways, and that big time.

Steve fumbled with his seatbelt as he tried unbuckling himself.

He failed.

Due to the increased movement, his head had started hurting even worse. Pinched, Steve reached for his phone. It had to be here somewhere. _Somewhere_.

His heart started racing in his chest.

Simultaneously, he could feel something, hard, a cell maybe, beneath his fingers.

Steve's breaths came out fast as he slipped his fingers around the cool surface of his cell.

But then again, Danny would know that something was up if he was only met with silence.

So all he actually had to do was dial.

Danny _would_ help him.

Tiredly, Steve blinked to clear to fuzziness that was clouding his line of sight. As he glanced around he could see that the Camaro was pretty much destroyed. Only now he realized that he was on his side. His side was crushed against the road. The car had flipped. He doesn't remember the actual crash. Just ... a loud bang and pain, pain was instant and blackness had followed shortly thereafter.

How come he hadn't noticed.

Noisily, Steve drew in much- needed oxygen as he felt his lungs constrict painfully. It has gotten harder to inhale and exhale. Steve pulled all his strength together to unbuckle his seatbelt, the one keeping him restrained.

It was hindering his ability to breathe.

 _Steven, you need to call for help. You know it. No one knows where you are._

Swallowing thickly while ignoring the incessant pounding of his head, Steve attempting to reach his phone, fighting off a sudden bout of dizziness and disorientation. _You have to find that phone_ , Steve, inner- Danny reminded him. Steve knew that he was hurt and needed help. A phone meant help provided there was a signal. Otherwise the phone would be of no use. It became increasingly harder for the Navy SEAL to stay alert, however, Steve knew that if he passed out now, Steve would not be able to make the call to Danny.

Blindly, he speed- dialed Danny, hoping, no, knowing that he would answer.


	2. Chapter 2

**Pohā**

Danny _would_ help him.

Tiredly, Steve blinked to clear to fuzziness that was clouding his line of sight. As he glanced around he could see that the Camaro was pretty much destroyed. Only now he realized that he was on his side. His side was crushed against the road. The car had flipped. He doesn't remember the actual crash. Just ... a loud bang and pain, pain was instant and blackness had followed shortly thereafter.

How come he hadn't noticed.

Noisily, Steve drew in much- needed oxygen as he felt his lungs constrict painfully. It has gotten harder to inhale and exhale. Steve pulled all his strength together to unbuckle his seatbelt, the one keeping him restrained.

It was hindering his ability to breathe.

 _Steven, you need to call for help. You know it. No one knows where you are._

Swallowing thickly while ignoring the incessant pounding of his head, Steve attempting to reach his phone, fighting off a sudden bout of dizziness and disorientation. _You have to find that phone_ , Steve, inner- Danny reminded him. Steve knew that he was hurt and needed help. A phone meant help provided there was a signal. Otherwise the phone would be of no use. It became increasingly harder for the Navy SEAL to stay alert, however, Steve knew that if he passed out now, Steve would not be able to make the call to Danny.

Blindly, he speed- dialed Danny, hoping, no, knowing that he would answer.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50**

Danny couldn't help but glance at the clock for another time. Shouldn't Steve be back by now? Or had he gone on to check on a lead on his own, without backup? Danny hoped that that wouldn't be the case. Knowing Steve the SEAL would get into trouble again. Typical Steve being Steve. Steve being this late without calling and notifying them was indeed weird and definitely unlike Steve. Then his phone started to ring.

"Dan ..." Danny could make out heavy and pain- filled gasping sounds on the other end of the line. His eyes widened fearfully. This was bad.

"... no. N ... eed 'elp."

The voice was strained and it seemed like an effort for Steve to talk.

"Steve, buddy, you okay?" Danny responded alarmed.

The connection was very bad.

"Help." He got as a reply, followed by heavy, raspy breathing.

"Stay on the line. I'll trace your phone." Danny gave back knowing he had to get a fix on Steve's location so that he can send fire and rescue vehicles to said location, his cell phone pressed against his ear as he scrambled out of his office.

Kono and Chin stood around the smarttable, discussing new evidence in their case.

But the case was the last thing on Danny's mind right now. All he cared about was the emergency trace of Steve's cell. "Danny, we have ..." Danny just interjected, not caring about work. Not with Steve not responding to his name being called on the phone.

Chin looked up, saw that something was wrong.

Terribly wrong.

"Chin, I need an emergency trace of Steve's cell." Danny exclaimed.

"Danny, what is going on?"

No answer.

"Steve, I'm tracing your call now, you hear me? Talk to me, Steve." Danny tried.

However, there was nothing in reply.

Not even a single sound came.

"Steve?" Danny feared the worst.

Panicked, Danny pictured Steve dying, not being able to breathe sufficiently thereby suffocating.

"Chin..." He said quietly.

"We have to hurry, he isn't doing so well." Danny was concerned, very.

About Steve.

Chin's finger started racing across the key board as he gave the order to search for Steve's cell.

Kono stared at him, shocked.

Danny called Steve's name over and over but the man on the other line was not responding to any of Danny's desperate yelps, suggesting Steve was very likely nonresponsive, unconscious.

Chin gazed up.

"Got him. His cell is between two cell towers in this area." Chin explained.

Kono glanced at her cousin.

Danny stared at the map for a second, swallowing harshly.

"I'm sending fire and rescue to this location." Chin elaborated, soon the emergency response vehicles were en route to the scene.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50**

Steve's breaths came out fast and shallow.

He was only semi- conscious. All he knew was that he hurt, a lot.

All over.

Steve was not able to pinpoint what hurt the most. It was just hot, burning pain flooding his body. Steve hoped rescue was on his way. It had gotten very cold. Especially now that the winds had picked up, grey clouds building up on the sky. Steve groaned suppressed as he moved a bit, the pain in his chest instant.

To make matters worse it had started to drizzle.

Rain, his battered brain told him.

Sluggish and weary, an injured and very exhausted Steve gazed at the partially shattered windshield, cracks covering the windshield where it hasn't completely shattered on Impact. Small glass pieces were embedded in the seats and surroundings, even in his skin as the constant throbbing told him. His eyes on half opened, it was hard to focus on anything. A painful cough erupted from his chest, making the pain in his thorax increase in intensity. By the time McGarrett was able to regulate his fast and strained breathing pattern, the SEAL noted something alarming.

The drizzle developed into actually rain.

The air and the outside temperature markedly decreased.

Steve shivered as the wet rain fell on his face, he could feel the coagulated blood on his forehead, from a cut he got in the crash, start running down his forehead. He could feel himself grow increasingly tired, his pain starting to become more present, unrelenting.

Steve's head felt like it wrapped in cotton, and also the headache got worse.

Dizziness made it impossible for him to do anything but breathe.

Even that got more difficult as time went on. As a sharp, unexpected pain ran through his abdomen, he let out a gasp, eyes wide yet he could feel his vision greying, the world slowly slipping out of focus. Steve knew he must have gone into shock at this stage.

 _Please, Danny,_ it was one of the last conscious thoughts he had running through his mind.

Steve hoped that the dizziness would dissipate.

All Steve's surroundings were blurring in and out of focus. Not to mention the constant pressure in his chest, the pounding in his head which rendered him unable to think clearly. In addition to that was the uncomfortable feeling in his abdomen, Steve McGarrett still held onto the small hope of not having sustained internal bleeding due the crash.

Bleeding internally would likely mean surgery.

Surgical intervention.

Prolonged time in the hospital.

But he had to go the hospital. Inhaling, Steve felt his ribs move in a way they shouldn't.

Out of a sudden, it was hard to breathe at all. Slight panic rose up in him as the feeling of lack of oxygen became more urgent. The dizziness increased, Steve's surroundings got more and more blurred as Steve attempted to breathe in, get oxygen into his system, yet his oxygen- starved lungs would not let him.

Steve could feel his vision greying out of focus.

Loss of consciousness was imminent.

There was nothing he could do to stop it, it was just around the corner. Vaguely aware that the rain had also increased in intensity, Steve sucked in another breath, hoping it would help.

Damn dashboard.

It was pinning him down.

Steve felt his eyes slipping closed as he succumbed to the oncoming darkness slamming into him.

Then he was out, no longer conscious.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50**

Steve slowly rose toward consciousness as he heard sirens belonging to the fire trucks and hopefully also the much- needed ambulance pulled up to his car wreck. Steve let out a shuddery breath, his eyes felt so heavy, also the dizziness started getting on his nerves.

Overall, Steve was quite uncomfortable in his current situation, pinned beneath the dashboard and the seat. But the SEAL could feel his legs, something he really was grateful for, considering his current condition.

Blue lights flickered around.

Sirens got increasingly louder, Steve pinched his eyes shut.

The loud, continuous and shrill sounds intensified the pounding against his skull, driving his headache into something barely tolerable. A pained sound escaped his throat.

Suddenly, there were footsteps near him.

"Over here." Someone called out while Steve just hoped that _someone_ would please turn the damn sirens off. At some point, Steve barely registered it, someone turned off the sirens leaving only the lights flickering.

Nevertheless, Steve was glad that the sirens got turned off, as the noise was making his headache worse.

Then, out of a sudden a gloved hand was put on his shoulder. "Sir, can you hear me?" A comforting voice softly questioned but it still felt like daggers sent through his skull causing him to flinch a little due to being in pain.

Steve managed a nod.

The man, a medic maybe, creased his brows in concern but Steve was way too tired and too exhausted to care.

His eyes slipped shut again.

A soft yet persistent tap on his cheek forced him to open his eyes. It would not stop unless he opened his eyes and respond to the medic trying to help him.

"Leave m' 'lone." Steve grumbled, not wanting to open his eyes.

"Just try and stay awake for me." Steve knew from the way he's been going in and out of consciousness that it would be hard to manage. "Don' know if c'n." Steve gave back, tiredly blinking.

Instantaneously, he was feeling dizzy again.

"You've been in a serious accident, we are working on getting you out." The man told him patiently, in a calming voice yet Steve had trouble focusing on what was said, what the paramedic said to him. This could be head injury- related which it was when taking his pounding headache into account.

Concussion. _Check_.

"I'm Jamie and this is my partner Roy. Can you tell me what hurts?" Jamie questioned, fire fighters around are working on securing the car to keep it from moving/ rolling over.

"Huh?" Steve weakly responded.

Concerned at the all too obvious signs of confusion, Jamie carefully reached for the patient's arm, trying to feel the pulse. It was there, he could feel the blood pulsate beneath his fingers. However, it was thready and going faster than it should. The paramedic pulled some medical supplies out of the emergency response bag.

"Roy, I need to get the KED brace on him." The brown-haired medic nodded in response as he climbed into the wrecked Camaro.

The constant rain was not making their job easier.

Only seconds later, Steve found himself in the car wreck, with his neck immobilized and a medic putting in an IV access to administer fluids and meds if necessary. He once again felt tiredness rushing through him, was barely able to keep his eyes open.

That didn't go unnoticed by the medics.

"Danno." Steve mumbled Danny's name, at that, the medics shared a look. "Can you hear me? McGarrett?"

But Steve did not respond. Instead, he passed out again.

"Damn it, he's lost consciousness. Get me a monitor." Jamie called out.

His colleague quickly reacted and grabbed the monitor to connect it to Steve so that they could keep track of his vital signs.

To the firemen, working quick and efficiently, trying to secure the Camaro so that in return a safe extrication of the injured driver would be possible, he called over, "Is it possible to speed this up? He needs a hospital." Worried about circulatory shock developing – if it hadn't already – he watched the cardiac monitor attentively. The heart rate was pretty high, indicative of shock, coupled with a low blood pressure.

It is clear that there were injuries, some serious. Injuries that needed immediate treatment in a proper hospital setting.

After the vehicle was secured by the fire fighters who had responded to the accident, they started the extrication of the injured man inside the vehicle. Using the Jaws of Life the roof of the crashed car was safely removed so that they could gain access to the patient and extract him from the vehicle to get him to the waiting ambulance. The positioned the spine board was slid behind his back, careful not to do further damage.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50**

HPD squad cars had also arrived on scene, along with Danny, Chin and Kono. As they arrived the road was filled with fire trucks and also police cars.

A tow truck was also standing by to remove the car after all evidence was secured. "Hurry up," Danny urged, he was relieved that they had finally arrived on scene. In that moment, the doors of the ambulance slammed closed with a big thud and drove off, turning on lights and sirens in the next moment. Danny felt his heart drop.

Lights and sirens never meant anything good.

It means that it is very likely that Steve wasn't doing so well at the moment, considering the speed that the ambulance had driven off with.

"Detective Williams." A voice called his name, a voice that he recognized as Sergeant Duke Lukela.

"Duke." Danny walked toward him.

"How did this happen? Do you know anything about Steve's condition?" Danny's voice quavered slightly as he swallowed back emotions that threatened to come out.

With a deep sigh, the police sergeant answered: "For now we are treating this as a normal investigation into a single motor vehicle accident but to be honest, I am not sure about that anymore." While they were talking, Danny and Lukela walked towards the crash site. As the detective saw the degree of damage his breath caught in his throat.

Debris of the car littered the road.

In the distance, Danny could hear the sirens. The detective turned around, facing Chin and Kono who were standing by closely, also taking in the scene of massive destruction.

"Can you … keep us updated, make sure …" Danny stuttered, his thoughts someplace else.

"I got to go to the hospital. Any idea which hospital Steve was brought to?" Controlling his voice, Danny turned to Duke for information.

"They're bringing him to Tripler."

After receiving this information, Danny absently nodded a quick 'thanks' to the sergeant. "Chin, Kono, let's go. We need to get a Tripler and I obviously don't have a car, not that it's important right now, I just need to get to Tripler."

That was Danny's only concern.

Pressing her lips tightly together, Kono nodded briefly as she, Chin and Danny high on her tails, unlocked her car. Not even one minute after, the car was racing down the highway, destination Tripler. Danny was pretty impatient, urging Kono to use lights and sirens to follow the damn ambulance. "Danny, I am getting us there, stop the backseat driving." Kono said, equally as stressed as Danny as she maneuvered the car through the streets.

Danny let out a stressed huff, focusing ahead, on Steve.

Knowing that Steve was a trouble magnet, as Danny liked to emphasize, always going after the toughest enemy. "Just hurry up please?" Danny pleaded, slouching down in the backseat. Chin threw him a concerned glance.


	3. Chapter 3

**Pohā**

Steve awoke in the ambulance as it was racing towards the hospital with sirens blaring. He could feel the blood pressure cuff constrict around his arm, the numbers soon appeared on the monitor causing the medic to look concerned. He could feel the mask covering his mouth and nose supplying him with added oxygen.

A blurry face hovered over him.

A face that Steve could barely make out. "Commander McGarrett?" A voice asked, trying to get him to respond.

The voice sent daggers through his skull, causing him grimace in pain.

With that he was confirming the medic's assumptions that the patient is awake and can hear them.

Tiredly, Steve blinked, while he attempted to ignore the pain bothering him, except that pretty much everything was hurting in a more or less painful way.

"Chest … hurts." Instantly, the medic hovered over him, checking up on his numbers. An oxygen mask was on his face, covering mouth and nose, kept in place by a strap.

The oxygen mask fogged up with each breath.

Steve figured that it could be worse, meaning being on a ventilator. He was grateful that he wasn't, he'd take that mask over the vent any time. With a weak motion he tried to remove it but the paramedic seated next to him quickly prevented him from doing so.

Steve's eyes sluggishly tracked the man's movements as he opened one of the cabinets, the ambulance swerved slightly.

"Commander McGarrett, you're in an ambulance. You were in an accident. You need the oxygen." The paramedic explained clearly, swiftly resettled the oxygen mask on his patient's face, the confusion visible in his eyes. It took a bit before McGarrett was able to absorb the given information.

Sirens were howling loudly as the ambulance sped towards their destination.

Steve's eyes fluttered, he blinked to clear the blurred surroundings.

The figure of the paramedic towering above him was fuzzy, pressure on his chest increased and Steve found it hard to inhale and exhale properly.

The interior of the ambulance fluttered in and out of focus, despite fast blinking Steve was unable to make the dizziness disappear, growing more and more disoriented by the minute. The heart rate increased slightly, at the same the blood pressure dipped and for a moment, the commander's eyes slipped closed.

"Commander McGarrett, open your eyes." The medic said, loud enough for the man on the stretcher to hear.

But there was no response from the injured man as the ambulance raced towards the nearest emergency department to that he could receive the much- needed medical care that he desperately needed to survive. Pursing his lips in blatant concern, the medic pressed his knuckles into the patient's sternum; he was hoping to elicit a reaction to pain stimuli, if only a groan, from the downed commander, as pressing the knuckles down on the sternum hurts.

But Steve remained unresponsive which was of great concern to the ambulance crew.

Gazing up and over to his colleague, he called over, "What's the ETA?" thereby meaning the estimated time of arrival.

The pulse oximeter clipped on Steve's finger showed lower than normal levels of oxygen in his blood, and to make things worse, a falling oxygen saturation foreboding that something was seriously wrong.

The prompt reply from the front of the emergency vehicle was, "We'll reach TAMC in five, tops." To underline that, the driver sped up a bit, driving with flashing lights and sirens. Cars were hastily moving out of the way to make room for the ambulance that was racing by with lights and sirens. "Good because I don't like his blood pressure. He appears to be shocky." The medic relayed to his partner. "Tell them to prepare a trauma team."

He distinctly heard him contact the hospital over the radio, cackling sounds in the line as he started relaying critical information to the hospital so that a trauma team would be prepared for their soonish arrival.

Steve mumbled in a soft, barely coherent voice, blearily opening his eyes, it was clear that he had a hard time focusing on anything in particular; "W'ere 'm I?" His voice sounded incredibly weak and then there was also the confusion, which most likely caused by the traumatic brain injury when his head hit the side window – seeing as that window had a cobweb of cracks in it, tracking back to where Steve's head had connected with it – which worried the medic as he was working on getting a second intravenous line access inserted.

The first IV access had been inserted even before the extrication began, at the scene to get a bag of IV saline into his veins to replenish lost blood volume.

"Commander McGarrett." The medic began loudly but before he could finish his sentence, suddenly Steve's eyes closed.

"Commander?!" The medic exclaimed frantically.

"Can you hear me?" But there was no reaction coming from the patient. Damn it, this was bad. "Damn it, we have a problem."

All at once the monitor started going off. Steve's eyes closed as the rhythm abruptly and suddenly changed from sinus tachycardia to ventricular tachycardia.

The paramedic was instantly alarmed by what he saw.

"Crap, he's got pulseless ventricular tachycardia." He exclaimed, he focused on treating his patient who was currently having bouts of life- threatening cardiac arrhythmia. He knew this situation meant that a shock was advised.

The paramedic pressed something on the heart monitor, quickly said 'Clear' before pressing the paddles onto Steve's chest.

Steve's chest jumped upwards as the electrical current jolted through his body.

A fast glance at the cardiac monitor confirmed that the situation was under control and contained as the commander gradually stabilized again.

"Got him."

Regular beeping sounds from the monitor replaced the wild beeping from before. Relieved, the medic put the paddles back where they belonged, the reading on the portable cardiac monitor normalized to at least semi-normal values.

"Heart rate's coming back down, still sinus tach but that's to be expected."

One shock with the defibrillator had sufficed and the paramedics had their patient's heart rhythm back under control. Then the ambulance backed up to the emergency department and the sliding glass doors and abruptly stopped. Sirens were still going off and blue lights flickering, throwing blue shadows against the outer walls of the hospital.

A trauma team was already waiting for their arrival.

"What do we have?"

 **H50 H50 H50 H50**

Danny rushed into the emergency department of Tripler Army Medical Center after learning that his best friend and brother has been brought there after a devastating motor vehicle accident on a side road, closely followed by Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua.

"Where is he, where is my partner?" Danny ran to the nurses' desk, desperately trying to get information on his partner's condition.

It was clear that he was very worried about his partner's condition.

"I'm looking for a patient. Commander Steve McGarrett, where can I find him?" Danny got out, rushed.

The nurse sitting there looked up from her computer and turned her attention to the worried man in front of her.

"Let me check." She said softly as she accessed the files on the computer.

A while later Danny was still tapping his fingers on the wood.

She finally told them that their leader and teammate was currently in CT, soon the doctor would come out to brief them on the commander's condition and the appropriate course of treatment. "Ah, got it. It says here a LCDR Steven J. McGarrett is undergoing trauma scans at this moment. That's all the information I am able to give you." Danny frowned as she continued. "The commander's still undergoing testing to find out what his injuries are."

Danny glanced at her, urging her to continue.

"The doctor will come out and talk to you as soon as he knows more." Danny breathed out slowly while dealing with a whirlwind of different feelings clashing, first and foremost deep worry and concern for Steve.

He felt Chin and Kono in his back.

"You can wait in the waiting room." She said, then again she emphasized that the doctor will come and talk with them as soon as there is any news on his condition. With that she dismissed them. After some waiting time, the doctor entered the room. "I'm looking for Commander McGarrett's family?" He asked, glancing around. Immediately, Danny stood up, nervousness and worry permeating through the small, confined room with white walls surrounding them. "That's us." He said, meaning himself, Kono and Chin.

"I am Steve's medical POA." Danny told him, clearly worried about his best friend. "Is he conscious? When can we see him?"

Instant questions, followed by more questions but they had yet to receive proper answers. Danny stood motionless, eyes fixated on the doctor, needing to know how his fallen partner was doing, if he was alright. Suppressing a sigh, the doctor told him what testing had revealed. "I'm Major Owens, the commander's treating physician." He looked in a bunch of frightened faces that wanted him to tell them what was going on. "Commander McGarrett has undergone testing to reveal the damage caused by the accident."

 _Uh, uh, this was bad_ , Danny figured, anxiously listening on. Danny felt his pulse quickening as he waited for the doctor to continue.

Waiting for the inevitable list of Steve's injuries.

Danny had just one thing on his mind; he desperately wanted his partner, his best friend, someone who is a brother to him, to be okay.

"What did the tests say?" Danny jumped in, worried. "The commander sustained multiple injuries of varying degrees. We diagnosed him with a moderate concussion; that is something that will be closely monitored by his treating physician."

Danny knew there was more, the doctor's face said it all.

"Luckily, there aren't any signs of a brain bleed or skull fracture. Also, there's some significant trauma to the chest. He suffered three broken ribs and two cracked. Due to the broken ribs he suffered something called a tension pneumothorax. We have inserted a tube into his chest to relieve the pressure that the air accumulating in the chest had caused. Also, he's got something known as a cardiac contusion."

Danny frowned.

Whatever that was sounded serious.

Danny could feel his heart beat quicken a bit. He did not have to turn around to know that Chin and Kono felt equally stressed and concerned as he was.

Steve and he had a special bond, like brothers.

And the fact there could something be seriously wrong with his heart scares the hell out of Danny. These crash injuries sounded pretty damn serious … "What?" Danny rasped out, his throat suddenly dry, suddenly an ill feeling rose up in him.

This was bad.

He knew it.

Could feel that it was not good for Steve.

The exact same kind of confusion could be read on his teammates' faces as well, they did not understand what was being said either.

 _Cardiac contusion?_ He's got no idea what that might mean, all he knows for sure is that it sounds bad, is bad news for Steve. "What do you mean by that, cardiac contusion? I don't understand." Danny sought to understand what the doctor talked about but all that medical talk was confusing right now. Is he breathing on his own, or did the unthinkable happen and they had to put him on a mechanical ventilator?

Cardiac? Anything related to the heart definitely means it's bad, especially in this situation.

"What's it mean for Steve?" Danny involuntarily shivered.

The air around him suddenly seemed cooler than normal. "A cardiac contusion is basically bruising of the heart muscle. Blunt cardiac trauma is often seen in patients after motor vehicle accidents. More critical injuries to the heart often end fatal in the field, others present with chest pain or are asymptomatic. The commander, however, suffered a more significant and hemodynamically relevant injury to the myocardium as he's continuing to have runs of ventricular tachycardia."

Danny was shocked but the face expression of the treating doctor told him that the list went on, that there were more issues to discuss.

Danny swallowed harshly, doing everything to stay calm and composed.

A flurry of activity in the hallway distracted him for a seconds but then seconds later as the doctor continued his attention returned, as was his hoping for some good news. "There is also abdominal trauma. Right now it's not severe enough to operate as there is a limited chance that it will resolve on its own. If symptoms worsen we will go in surgically and stop the internal bleeding. For now, the commander's in stable condition. But he will be moved to intensive care until the abdominal bleeding resolves, just as a precaution."

Danny breathed a sigh of relief.

"Where's he now?" Danny questioned, hands clenched tightly. Steve's doctor gazed at him; Danny instantly saw an expression; an expression that Danny was unable to decipher was covering his face as the doctor promptly replied to the detective's question. "He's demanding to speak with Danny Williams." He looked at the man standing there, knowing that it would probably help both him and his patient if Steve sees his partner.

Steve had trouble staying calm and maybe Danny would be able to help with that.

"Can I see him?" Realizing that Steve was conscious and had already requested his presence, Danny's heartbeat quickened, hopeful he gazed at the doctor.

"Follow me, detective." The doctor said with a tired half- smile, addressed to Danny Williams.

The doctor motioned Danny to follow him.

Kono and Chin stayed back, relieved to hear that Steve should be fine with some rest and treatment, not knowing that this was just the beginning of all of it.

Danny followed the doctor at a quick pace as they headed towards one of the cubicles.

"Detective, he's awake but he's very stressed, confused and in pain."

Danny's brows furrowed slightly.

"In pain? Haven't you given him anything?" The doctor huffed loudly and regarded him with a look. That's when Danny understood. "Let me guess?" Danny said exasperated by his partner's stupidity.

Steve's doctor shot him a questioning glance as they were about to enter Steve's cubicle.

"Steve is stubborn as shit and refusing to take the offered pain meds?" Danny replied knowingly, thinking to himself that it was so like Steve to refuse pain meds even if it was clear as day that he needed them, especially now in this situation.

"They're having trouble calming him. Something must have frightened him."

The doctor pushed open the curtains, they both enter.

Instantly Danny sees Steve on that hospital bed, eyes wide open in fear, limbs thrashing around wildly. "Someone get me a sedative." The monitor was beeping loudly, signaling a significant raise in Steve's heart rate. A nurse rushed to the cabinet, took out a vial containing the sedative.

Danny's heart dropped after seeing Steve so panicked, so vulnerable, flailing around.

"Steve." He said his friend's name, too soft to hear through all the noise caused by the cardiac monitors.

Danny could see the hectic movements inside the cubicle as nurses were desperately trying to calm Steve down. Another one prepared a syringe with the substance from the vial. He was thrashing around wildly, trying to rip out the lines snaking down his arm.

Danny had no idea what had caused the Steve to act like this.

"Let me try." Danny insisted as he watched the medical team holding him down.

But he hurried to his friend's side, grabbing his arm that was wildly flinging around. "Steve." Danny yelped his friend's name, trying to get through to him.

Steve, however, at first did not seem to notice that Danny was there, amidst all the nurses and doctors. Danny saw a doctor inserting a needle into the IV port, ready to push the plunger to insert a sedative to stop Steve from hurting himself and others.

Steve was still thrashing around.

"Steve, calm down."

Danny attempted to turn Steve's focus on him.

"I'm here, buddy. Just calm down, Steve. They are here to help you."

As Steve slowly recognized Danny's voice Steve calmed down a bit, stopped thrashing around.

"Let them work, Steve. They are here to help you." Danny softly muttered, a hand on Steve's cheek to let him know he was here.

"D'nny." Steve rasped, still feeling somewhat sick.

The dizziness and the pain throughout his body were still there, lingering. But now that Danny was here, Steve tried to block out the pain and turn his focus onto Danny. "How are you feeling, buddy?" Danny softly questioned, worry evident in his face.

Steve's eyes fluttered closed for a second, before the SEAL opened them again, Danny was shocked by the pain he sees in them.

" 's hurts." Steve mumbled; his voice feeble. "Just sleep, buddy."

Danny locked eyes with the doctor, motioning him to push the meds to knock Steve out for a bit. The detective knew that Steve needed the rest dearly. Pressing his lips together, the doctor injected the medication directly into his IV. It wasn't long before the effects of the drug given to Steve became noticeable. Wearily, Steve blinked at him, before saying something incoherent, something Danny couldn't understand.

"What'cha given me?" This time, Danny could understand what Steve had mumbled.

Danny ran his hand down his friend's arm in a soothing motion. "It's okay, babe. I'll be here when you wake up." A hint of a smile was seen on Danny's face.

He then watched as Steve's eyes fluttered closed.

Danny, without letting go of Steve's hand, turned to face the doctor. "How long will he be out?" Danny wanted to know, feeling slightly overwhelmed about all of this, not to mention the lingering worry about Steve. "Is he doing okay?" Major Owens glanced at the cardiac monitor, Steve's heart rhythm was holding steady at 120 with a blood pressure a bit lower than usual but not too bad.

Apparently the doctor was sated with what the cardiac monitor displays.

The doctor took the stethoscope hanging from neck and put it onto Steve's chest that was only draped with a light cover. As the doctor put the stethoscope on various spots to listen to the sounds of heart and lungs, Danny could make out the electrodes and wires connected to the heart monitor. "Heart sounds are good. There's slight wheezing from the lungs but I hope it will be alright. For now he's in stable condition. I'll have the nurse come in every half hour to check for any changes in his condition."

Danny nodded, still feeling a bit overwhelmed by everything. The doctor quietly slipped out of the cubicle, for now everything was good here.

Danny caught his second first glimpse of Steve who looked like he had been run over by a car, quite literally. His eyes were closed due to the medication in his system, the IV drip provided him with fluids and there was steady beeping coming from the cardiac monitor. There was an oxygen mask on his face.

Slightly unsteady and taken aback by the damage the crash had caused Danny put his hand on Steve's. He stayed quiet, watched the steady up and down movement of Steve's chest.

His best friend, his brother was here. _Alive_.

And breathing.

Danny had no idea for how long he has been sitting with Steve after the doctor came and talked to him. For now, he simply relished the fact that Steve was relatively okay, that he could sit with him while waiting for a bed. Steve hadn't moved since he had calmed down.


	4. Chapter 4

**Pohā**

Danny sat next to his friend's gurney in the emergency department.

Danny was so glad that Steve was conscious.

But he hadn't forgotten what happened when the doctor took him to see Steve. After receiving that sedative, albeit a low dose, Steve hadn't woken up. Danny sighed and held onto Steve's hand. His breathing was even as was the rise and fall of his chest. Danny eyed the chest tube protruding from Steve's chest before his gaze landed on the cardiac monitor that was beeping in regular intervals. To Danny that was incredibly reassuring.

But he had sustained some serious injuries in that car crash that much had Steve's primary doctor told him.

There was a cardiac contusion causing ventricular arrhythmias which is why they were in the emergency department waiting for a room becoming available in intensive care to become available as this has to be monitored to make sure said cardiac contusion wouldn't cause problems as in continuing bouts of ventricular tachycardia.

Also concerning was the moderate concussion Steve sustained in the crash but luckily, Steve wasn't bleeding into his brain.

Danny leaned forward, his chin on his hands. He continued to stare at the cardiac monitor, observing.

"I'm sorry." Steve whispered as he shifted slightly, suppressing the grunt. This was probably about the Camaro issue.

Steve looked down, ashamed.

He was connected to the cardiac monitor, it was displaying his regular heart rate and rhythm. His doctor had insisted, however, Steve sure was annoyed by the wires snaking down his chest and monitoring his heart rhythm. Steve eyed the monitor with great displeasure but he could see where the doctor was coming from considering they had to defibrillate him in the ambulance due to a malignant arrhythmia.

His head hurt and his stomach felt weird as well but he had been given some pain killers although, naturally, he had refused at first. He did not like having to take pain killers at all. But then, Danny had coaxed him to take something that wasn't quite strong but he would still benefit from it.

Danny saw his face expression, instantly the Jersey detective realized what this was about. His Camaro.

To be honest, he hadn't thought about the Camaro after receiving Steve's phone call, Danny could still remember Steve's pained voice, his heart had dropped when he figured out what had happened, that Steve had been in an accident.

Yet, he had no idea how serious it was.

At least not at the time of the call …

"Hey, none of that."

Danny got up from the chair he had been vacating. Steve was only half awake, he gazed at him half- lidded.

" 'm sorry," Steve repeated weakly, his voice barely loud enough for Danny to hear. "Steve, look at me, buddy. Look at me." Danny said loudly to get Steve's attention, trying to calm the SEAL down. Bleary eyes focused on him, or at least attempted to do so.

"You are okay." Danny told him.

"Camaro, D'nny." Steve insisted as the pain in his abdomen increased, despite the pain meds. Danny grabbed his hand, firmly pressing it to let Steve know he was not alone in this mess. His bruised face was scrunched up, Danny noted.

"Don't worry about the Camaro, Steve."

Steve gazed at him.

Not responding.

Steve suddenly flinched as the pain in his abdomen increased. Danny scanned his best friend's face, seeing the paleness, making the bruises more prominent. "Steve?" Danny said his name, a bit worried. "You alright?" Steve nodded unconvincingly as the pain his abdominal area grew stronger.

A small, suppressed groan escaped his throat.

Danny frowned, alarmed.

"You're not alright." He stated with utter concern.

Steve attempted to sit up, and leave the bed to prove that he was good and not in need of medical attention even if the untrained eye could see that he was. Danny gaped, open-mouthed and at last definitely surprised at his best friend's actions, at Steve for a moment as he tried to disconnect the IV line before getting up.

Some of the wires connected to the cardiac monitor were disconnected.

Danny, however, would have none of it; he stopped Steve from leaving the bed.

"Hey, you moron, stop."

Danny's voice was loud and firm.

"I am fine." Steve insisted as he tried to free himself from Danny.

Danny pressed him back into the pillows to stop him from leaving; because of his injuries Danny was able to get him to stop resisting. "Cut it out, Steve, you are injured and not leaving this bed. You need rest, especially since you have bruising on your heart. That's what's causing the chest pain and the rhythm disturbances. They said you crashed in the ambulance, Steve." Danny reached for his hand. Totally unexpected, Steve stopped resisting and just lay back. Steve stared at him, eyes wide open.

"I ... crashed?" He shook his head, for a moment, everything swirled around him so Steve closed his eyes and hoped the dizziness plaguing him would soon dissipate to a more tolerable level. "I can't remember anything about that. The ride to the hospital is …" Steve breathed in sharply as a new wave of pain rolled through his body.

"… blurry. I think I was in and out of consciousness."

His voice was quiet.

Steve seemed to have noticed the concerned glance Danny was throwing him. "You feeling alright, Steve?" Steve regarded him with an annoyed look, once more Danny saw the bruises lining Steve's face, the stitches needed to close the head lac. As he looked at his friend's arms and legs, they were also covered in bruises, not to mention the giant one on Steve's chest right over the sternum. That must hurt.

Danny grimaced in sympathy.

In this moment, a nurse entered the cubicle to perform a quick check on his vitals and also the necessary concussion checks. "Hey, there, Commander McGarrett. You're awake. Can you tell me how you feel?" She asked as she checked the pupil reaction finding them to be normal and reactive, yet Steve was bit sensitive to light. "I'm okay, a bit light- headed and nauseas but all things considered, I am alright." Steve lifted his head, looking at Danny. "You need something for it?" Steve shook his head. It was not that bad.

 _Not yet, anyways._

"Any pain? I can up your pain meds?" She asked, scribbling something down in his chart that was hanging on the foot of his bed. "Nah, 'm fine. I don't need any pain meds." Steve declined the offer although if he was honest, he was kinda hurting. "There is no shame in accepting pain meds, Steve." Danny noted from his seat next to him.

"But I don't need them, Danny:"

The unspoken thing being, 'I'm a SEAL, we are trained to deal with pain'.

The nurse glanced at him, a knowing smile on her face.

She knew those types.

 _Definitely a military man._

"If anything gets worse, don't hesitate to press the call button." She pointed towards it. "I'll be back to get check on you in fifteen minutes." She said causing both her patient and Danny to nod in reply. Then she left them alone again and Danny turned all his attention to Steve. Stoically, Steve gazed at him before breathing in deeply, forgetting about the broken ribs.

"Ah, shoot." He hissed as instant pain shot through his chest.

Shallow breathing it is.

"You are not fine." Danny simply stated. "You want me to get the doctor?" Steve worked on controlling his breathing, trying to breathe shallowly so that the pain related to breathing in deeply wouldn't happen again. A feeling of unease seeped coupled with intermittent waves of nausea running through him, waves of pain running through his abdomen. Steve squeezed his eyes shut, trying to deal with it.

But he was glad that he was no longer in that car wreck.

It was getting hotter in here, at least Steve felt like that.

The dizzying heat and the increasing pain in his upper abdomen made things worse. Then add in his slightly irregular heartbeat, he gazed at Danny, eyes barely open.

"Steve, buddy, you alright?" Steve's weak nod did little to convince Danny as the blonde could clearly make out the pain lining his place. Danny frowned as he took in Steve's face expression. He knew the man well enough to know that he was in pain right now. Something was wrong with him, very wrong. Danny sure realized it. Steve let out a weak gasp as the pain intensified significantly. A searing pain ripped through his abdomen.

The pain in his abdomen increased.

Steve was hardly able to hide it from Danny who was watching over him.

"N'h, 'm good, Dan … ny." Furrowing his brows, Danny eyed the injured man. That was barely a whole sentence; the reply had been slurred. Danny locked eyes with before starting off with a mini- Danno rant. "You are not fine. I should call the doctor; Steve." Danny got up from the chair, pacing back and forth through the cubicle.

"You, my friend, are by no means fine. You will stay here, in this bed until the doctor gives you a clean bill of health. Understood?"

Steve avoided looking at him.

Pain still evident on his face. Sighing quietly, Danny promised himself to keep an eye on Steve who seemed to doze lightly, as best as it was possible in his situation. " 'm fine." Steve ground out, trying to convince him, not that Danny would have believed it. Right now it was fairly obvious that Steve was not _fine_.

Right now, Danny was seriously considering getting a nurse or doctor to take another look at Steve because this was not typical behavior.

Silence.

Except for the persistent beeping and noise of the various machines, the only sounds in the room were Danny and Steve breathing. Steve rolled around on the gurney, trying to find a more comfy position. But the pain made it impossible. Every position was painful; Steve gritted his teeth, trying to deal with the pain just like he learned to. The commander struggled with the many colorful leads of the cardiac monitor; almost getting those all tangled up.

"Wait. Let me help you, buddy." Danny intercepted as he helped Steve.

"Careful, don't pull out your IV."

Danny, who had stood at the foot of his gurney before, moved to the wall and grabbed a chair from the corner of the cubicle. Danny watched Steve settling down, being very quiet and less argumentative. For a short moment, Danny eyed the IV bag containing saline. The rhythmic sound of the heart monitor was comforting to him.

However, something was very wrong with Steve.

Being a police officer, Danny immediately picked up on the alarming symptoms, internally debating whether or not to inform someone.

Another look at his best friend and partner and he knew which decision had to be made.

Worried at how Steve barely responded for him, Danny immediately pressed the call button, while trying to get Steve to respond to him. "I am getting the doctor. Hang on, buddy." Danny whispered as Steve let out a small, pained whimper, confirming that something was wrong.

The pain in his abdomen got worse.

The cardiac monitor started beeping faster as it picked up on the increasing heart rate.

Blearily, Steve moved his head to the side, ignoring the unsettling feeling in his abdomen as he attempted to focus on where Danny's voice was coming from.

A sharp pain shot through him, he flinched.

Steve didn't fight Danny when the man insisted on accepting pain killers. Pain was now worsening and he couldn't contain a groan any longer.

" 's hurts, D'nno." Steve grounded out as his hand shot out.

He grabbed Danny's wrist and clutching onto it.

"Abd'men hurt'." Steve's eyes closed.

"Steve, open your eyes." Danny begged, hoping Steve would respond and that they would answer their damn pagers. Steve could barely hear that voice but he willed himself to open his eyes.

Opening them was a strenuous process but Steve was able to peel them open, slightly.

Danny's worried face came into his view.

"The doctor will be here soon. Come on, buddy. Stay with me. I know it hurts but you gotta stay conscious, Steve." Steve gave a feeble nod, eyes closing again. It was harder to stay conscious and the pain was overwhelming. Steve felt like shit. Danny glanced up, hoping for Steve's doctor to return to have a look at Steve. His skin was grey, and he was squirming on the gurney.

Danny pressed Steve's hand, running his thumbs over the somewhat clammy skin. "Hang on." Danny said, very concerned about Steve.

Danny's brows creased in concern.

Steve's pale complexion, the persistent sweating told a whole different story.

"Steve, come on, buddy, answer me."

Danny shook his shoulder, gently at first, then after the absence of any kind of reaction more firmly. No response at all. Add in the pale and ghostly, almost white complexion, Danny realized that Steve's condition is deteriorating. Yet the only response from the only semi- conscious Steve was a low, pained moan.

The cubicle was crowded with doctors, nurses.

As well as the erratic, disjointed beats displayed on the cardiac monitor.

A nurse came into the cubicle in long strides, alarmed by the shrill- sounding alarm and beeping sounds from various machines connected to Steve.

"What's going on?"

"He's barely conscious. He said his abdomen hurt." Danny answered, visibly shaken.

"His pressure's low." She noted as she retook the patient's blood pressure and found her patient unresponsive. Steve's eyes were closed. He seemed to have lost the fight to stay conscious. "Commander McGarrett, can you hear me? Nod if you can hear me." The nurse said loudly. She looked even more concerned than she did when she entered, tapping against his cheek to wake him up. But Steve remained stubbornly unconscious.

"I'll get Major Owens right away."

Minutes later, Steve's doctor, wearing a lab coat, hurriedly entered the room. The nurse immediately started spouting off words that Danny only hardly understood. "He's getting worse. His BP is down, his heart rate is up. He's in circulatory shock."

There was too much medical jargon, talk about blood pressure being too low and pulse rate too high amongst other things, things that he did not have the strength to comprehend right now. "Steve." He croaked out, not believing what he was seeing, all the medical personnel hurrying around in an organized chaos.

How did they go from Steve talking to this?

Danny could not understand that at all. Danny stood there, shocked.

He watched as the doctor tried to communicate with Steve but couldn't quite an adequate reaction from him. "I'm going to check out his abdomen." Major Owens explained loudly in case his patient still was able to hear him despite the lack of adequate response from the injured SEAL while pressing down gently to feel for any tenderness. Danny's eyes got wide as he saw that Steve's abdomen was markedly bruised; covered in purplish bruising.

The blonde detective let out a shocked gasp.

Realizing the implications.

Danny staggered backwards until he stood with his back against the wall.

Albeit Steve was barely conscious at that point he felt the doctor pressing down on his abdomen.

Instantaneously the painful feeling cutting through him is comparable to a knife slicing through his belly and it also elicited a reaction from Steve.

 _Fuck, this hurts like hell._

Reflexively, Steve instinctively curled up, shying away from the doctor's hands putting pressure on his blood- filled abdomen, trying to deal with the excruciating pain coming from his abdomen, pointing to intra- abdominal hemorrhaging. "I know it hurts. But you need to stay calm. We're going to help you, commander." Major Owens tried to calm his patient who was in a great deal of pain.

Steve had his eyes squeezed shut as he grunted.

A shiver rushed through Danny as he heard Steve's pain- filled grunt in response to the pain, Steve's eyes were half- mast, still a little bit opened but soon after that they fluttered closed. Steve had lost consciousness. "He's probably bleeding out. His internal bleeding must have gotten worse." He continued calm and collected knowing this patient needs to go to an operating room right now; his eyes on the patient before giving orders.

Soon Steve had another IV access as well as a central line.

The oxygen mask covering mouth and nose fogged up every time Steve took a breath, his respirations were coming quick and shallow.

"Call down to OR, we need to have an OR ready and prepped. Tell them we're coming down with an emergency ex lap.", Steve's physician was referring to an exploratory laparotomy to locate the source of the bleeding.

Danny's eyes darkened, panic flooded his body.

The medical staff has loosened the gurney's brakes, intending to move Steve down to an operating room as they already knew that this man suffers from worsening internal bleeding, considering a trauma scan was done, only a short time after Steve was brought into Tripler Army Medical Center. "Tell them to have O neg. on standby and have the OR staff prime the rapid infuser for immediate blood transfusion. We're going to need it. Hurry."

 _Blood._

 _Going to need it._

That does not sound too good. Danny felt his heart race hollowly in his chest, his breath hitching slightly.

The gurney rolled over the usual grey and white- carpeted linoleum into the hospital's hallway, through the urgent rush and hectic of the emergency department. As a team of doctors and nurses pushed the gurney down the hallway something changed in Steve's clinical status, and that quite out of sudden.

Benumbed and trying to keep his feelings under wraps, Danny followed them across the hallway.

 _Steve has to be alright._

 _He's a fighter._

 _A damned car crash cannot be what takes him out._

Danny's mind circled around that thought constantly as he observed with heightened concern the medical staff rushing around Steven, and then the wailing cardiac monitor only intensified the building dread of what is going to happen to Steve, their team leader but most of all friend; good friend. What would Steve dying do to him, to Chin and Kono? To them? It would wreck them, destroy them. Danny refused to think about the real possibility of Steve dying, here or on the table or afterwards.

Steve had to survive.

Otherwise, Danny would have no idea what to do. Steve's his brother and best friend, his partner, even goes as far as calling Steve his soulmate. That day that Danny got drafted into Five-0 was one of the best days in his life, although he would never admit that to Steve's face. Steven J. McGarrett had given him everything, a family and a new life, _'ohana_.

He had followed his daughter to Hawaii.

It was the best decision he had ever made. Not only was he close to his daughter.

But Danny also found his place, and a tightly- knit family.

 _But yet?_

 _With Steve severely injured …_

Danny shook his head in denial. Nope, he would not go there, he would not. Danny would not, could not accept the fact that his badass and loyal to a fault- Super SEAL, Neanderthal animal might be on the verge of dying right now.

Eyes fixated on the herd of doctors and nurses around the gurney transporting Steve when suddenly the portable cardiac monitor at the foot of Steve's gurney went off with shrill and disturbing sound.

Danny stopped.

Breathless he observed them, knowing someone would eventually tell him to leave. Go to the waiting room, wait for news there. Danny had to know what was going on with Steve.

The gurney stopped abruptly.

Someone felt for Steve's pulse, trying to get him to react to their stimuli. But it was useless as Steve was out cold, the leads connected to his heart monitor remitted the erratic rhythm disturbances onto the screen causing the organized commotion break loose.

But the SEAL was not responding to anything.

Steve made no sound or movement as a doctor pressed his knuckles into the sternum. That would have hurt, had he felt it.

 _What the hell was going on here?_

The doctors said the internal bleeding was not that bad, that they could wait it out in intensive care until it resolved on its own? But apparently, that no longer was the case as Steve's condition had so suddenly taken a turn for the worse. To make things worse, Steve's pressure started dropping causing the machine to sound an immediate alarm to alert the doctors of the impending complications about to arise.

 _No, no, no._ Danny thought himself.

 _Please, Steve, don't give up on me now. Keep fighting._

A nurse increased the drip on his IV fluids to keep up with the blood loss. Despite instant action, Steve continued to deteriorate.

A horrifying, eerie sound of the cardiac monitor resounded in Danny's ears. A numb feeling spreading through him, he watched as only seconds later medical personnel rushed into the cubicle and converging on the bed, one pushing a crash cart telling Danny that it was as serious as he feared.

It seemed like chaos yet it was organized chaos.

Danny held his breath, seeing Steve's pale, pained face.

It was clear even to the untrained eye that something was horribly wrong.


	5. Chapter 5

**Pohā**

"Out of the way."

A nurse reached for Danny and subsequently pushed him aside so that the doctors and nurses can start treatment. "How is he?" Danny asked; his voice shivering as he watched as Steve's condition started to deteriorate. Steve's eyes were half- open but no longer focused, then moments after they closed, fell shut.

"His breathing's slowing down, we gotta intubate before he goes into respiratory arrest."

Major Owens made decides within seconds to intubate before everything goes down the drain completely and Steve stops breathing which at the rate he's deteriorating is not a far off possibility. "Get me an ET tube." The doctor inserted a tube. After checking the breath sounds to make sure the endotracheal tube is in the position it should be, he taped down the tube that he just inserted. Seconds later, Steve had a breathing tube down his throat to secure his airway. Danny watched, his hand covering his mouth in shock.

The blonde could only watch in shock.

 _How did it come this? What's happening? What are they doing to Steve?_

Danny's thoughts were racing.

All he knew was that he couldn't lose Steve. "What's the rhythm?"

Out of a sudden, the disjointed heart beats on the cardiac monitor turned into a high- pitched sound of Steve going into traumatic cardiac arrest. Danny looked up, seeing the monitor sounding an alarm, simultaneously Major Owens felt for a pulse, can't find one. "He's arresting." Someone else yelled something about Steve's pressure dropping dangerously low. The cardiac monitor now displayed a flat line as the activity around Steve increased.

"Steve."

Danny stumbled backwards in shock, against the wall.

"He saw as he dark- haired doctor started chest compressions as the defibrillator started whirring as it began charging, then a computerized voice occurred. "The unit is charged." Major Owens shot a quick glance towards the cardiac monitor. "Do we have a shockable rhythm?", he was hoping to find ventricular fibrillation so that they can defibrillate.

"Patient's still in asystole." A nurse informed him.

"Continue compressions."

The doctor switched places with the doc who had previously done the ventilation part, now he was doing the chest compressions and the other doctor was operating the bag valve mask and was bagging him.

"Just keep him alive." Danny's voice was barely audible.

Nobody seemed to have heard him. All the medical personnel were busy fighting for Steve's life. The piercing sound of the machine seemed to be the only thing Danny heard as he witnessed the doctors rallying around Steve who lay there lifeless, being kept alive by cardiopulmonary resuscitation and manual ventilation.

The stats on the monitor were grim; it was still signaling no change in the rhythm, the pulse oxygen was low, despite the manual ventilation. "Stop bagging for a second. I need to get the tube in." Danny continued to listen to the sound of the flat line, feeling helpless as the doctors fought to restore circulation and a rhythm. The doctors working on Steve, one was manually ventilating Steve while Steve's primary was doing compressions as they waited for a shockable rhythm to appear on the monitor that they could use the defibrillator.

Then suddenly his rhythm changed to ventricular fibrillation.

Major Owens applied the transcutaneous pacing pads to his chest, then he called out.

All stepped away from the patient and refrained from touching while the electrical current is used with intentions of stopping and then kick- starting the heart. "Charge to 200. Clear." Steve's weakened body jerked off the table and fell back down with a thud, they are dealing with major blood loss due to a blunt injury to the patient's abdomen.

The patient's pressure dipped dangerously low.

Contemporaneously his cardiac monitor is going off wildly.

The doctor was instantly alarmed by what he saw. "Polymorphic VF. We have shocked once, now preparing for the second round of ACLS."

The doctor, explained that they were prepping for advanced cardiopulmonary life support, not taking his eyes off of the cardiac monitor. He was worried very worried about this man. The trauma team got him back after the second try, they inserted a central venous line to monitor central venous pressure and to assess the response to fluid administration.

"Crap, he's got pulseless ventricular tachycardia." He exclaimed.

"What does that mean?" He did not reply to Danny, instead he focused on treating his patient who was currently having bouts of life- threatening cardiac arrhythmia.

He knew this situation meant that a shock was advised.

The doctor pressed something on the heart monitor, quickly said 'Clear' before pressing the paddles onto Steve's chest.

 _Come on, Steve. Don't give up on me now._

Steve's chest jumped upwards as the electrical current jolted through his body. Danny was shocked, he hadn't expected this. "Push amiodarone."

The rest drowned out, faded into the background.

As Danny slid down the wall, watching shocked as Steve took yet another turn for the worse, the medical staff continued to work on Steve to restore spontaneous circulation. His voice expressed utter urgency, hastening to treat Steve's worsening clinical status. Danny watched in shock. After the third charge, resuscitation was halted to check for a rhythm. They hadn't expected it, however, suddenly the cardiac monitor picked up something.

Indicative for a heartbeat.

Danny did not dare to hope in case it was just the machine screwing with them.

 _This doesn't mean anything,_ Danny internally berated himself as he caught himself getting hopeful because this sure as hell did not look like it would have a good ending, come on a rapid response team having to resuscitate Steve in the hallway as he was on his way to explorative emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding.

 _Danny, don't kid yourself. This can end badly and you know it. Just don't get your hopes up._

Holding his breath, Danny slowly got up from the wall he had slid down, still feeling a bit woozy, so to say.

But he shrugged it off, blamed it on what he had just seen.

Danny had seen Steve, his best friend and brother, die in front of him.

It was unbelievably hard to apprehend, the Jersey detective found himself wishing that the cousins were here with him. He just cannot really believe it. It felt like he was in a daze, he could not really hear what people around him were saying or if men or women in light- blue scrubs, some were in BDUs, were talking to him at all. Danny could make out was Steve, laying there. Vulnerable. The pacing pad sticking on his chest, the leads connecting to the cardiac monitor made him seem small and very injured, very unlike the strong man he knows.

Danny's eyes glistened with tears.

Also, Kono and Chin had no idea what had happened. Kono had made him promise to inform them of any changes in Steve's condition, from stable to critical, going into surgery. With a sigh, Danny remembered that cousins were still waiting on Danny to give them news.

About Steve.

At this Danny felt tears rising up, he had to them that Steve was … Somehow it felt like the sterile white hospital walls were closing in on him.

 _After all this is Steve, the trouble magnet._

Another blip appeared on the monitor.

His heart was coming back, they could hear the faint but regular beeping of the cardiac monitor.

Steve was going back into sinus bradycardia.

All attention turned to the cardiac monitor that showed a slow pulse. A blip after another appeared on the screen. Instead of the high- pitched wailing sound of the cardiac monitor.

Steve needed the operating room, and he needed it yesterday.

"Wait." Major Owens said, checking for heart and breath sounds using the stethoscope while a colleague was ventilating Steve with a bag valve mask. A tentative smile appeared on his face as he announced: "We got him, we need to get him to the OR, now."

Hectic voices, medical personnel rushing around.

Steve's gurney was whisked away, leaving him standing lost in the hallway. Shocked Danny stood there motionlessly. "Please don't die, Steve." Danny whispered with a heavy heart, thankful that the doctors had gotten Steve back, but the detective knew that this was just the beginning. "Danny?" Someone tapped on his shoulder. Danny just kept staring at the elevator doors that had closed behind Steve. "They, uh …" Danny sputtered nervously but he did not turn around.

It was like he was frozen on the spot.

Chin exchanged an alarmed look with Kono, knowing there was something they couldn't quite put their finger on.

Except that it likely had something to do with Steve. Why was Danny here, staring at the closed doors of the elevators when he was supposed to be sitting with Steve in the cubicle in the emergency department? Something must have happened, if nothing had happened Danny would be with Steve right now. Maybe something happened? "Danny, did something happen to Steve?" Kono questioned, not daring to hope that whatever caused Danny's current state of mind was not related to Steve. At that, Danny turned around to look at Chin and Kono, the haunted look on Danny's face telling them that the news isn't good.

Not at all.

Quietly, not saying a word, Chin and Kono stood there, waiting for Danny go on, to tell them about what happened to Steve. It was obvious something had because the last time they had seen the detective was when Danny was headed to Steve's cubicle, together with Steve's treating physician. So what had happened in the time they had spent in the waiting room.

Breathing out a deep and shivery sigh, Danny spoke: "It's bad."

"He's in surgery." Danny shook his head.

"What?" Kono exclaimed, surprised by the sudden turn of happenings. "The doc said he was fine, just some minor injuries."

Danny swallowed thickly.

"He crashed, Kono. He's not fine." Danny said, anger and worry lacing his voice. "Steve's internal injuries were worse than first expected, they're trying to save him now."

What Danny had said about Steve being in surgery came as a shock.

Danny's anguished face told them everything that he was feeling right now, like an open book. That it could be hours before anyone would come out to talk to them, update them on Steve's condition. Chin didn't say anything, instead he stepped forward to embrace their teammate, to be there for him. The Hawaiian knew that Danny needed the comfort, with Steve's precarious situation. "We are here, Danny. Everything will be alright." Danny simply nodded softly even though the detective didn't quite believe it. Danny Williams had been in this kind of situation before, enough to know that it does not always end well.

"We talked, Chin. I can't …" Danny muttered in a quiet tone.

Chin frowned.

"He was awake, we were talking and then he just … it happened so suddenly, I … I should have …" Danny was on the verge of tears but was succeeding in keeping them at bay. Chin put a hand on his shoulder. "This is not your fault, Danny, there was no way of knowing something like this would happen."

"It's Steve, Chin." Danny exclaimed.

"That guy's a magnet for trouble. I never should have let him run down that lead alone."

"Hey."

Chin increased his voice to be sure that Danny heard him. "This isn't helping Steve, Danny. You blaming yourself won't help him. It is not your fault, you did not hit him. Steve was in a motor vehicle accident. It is not your fault. If anything, you're the reason he's here right now considering you had me triangulate his cell phone signal." Chin gazed at Danny who had looked away, his gaze pained and far away, probably thinking about Steve.

"Danny, let's focus on Steve."

"Okay." The Jersey detective softly replied, a voice slightly shaking.

"Come on, then."

Despite him always referring to Steve as Super SEAL, the Jersey detective knew that the man was only human, just like any of them.

"We should find a waiting room." Kono mumbled quietly, nervously pacing around. Kono remembered Danny's face expression as he stood in front of them, telling them that Steve had been taken up to surgery after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Danny took another shivery breath, trying to compose himself.

But his thoughts kept running in circles, always going back to Steve, when the SEAL crashed and the horror Danny felt when he saw the doctors reviving him. As the remaining team members of Five-0 gathered in the waiting room, settling in for a perturbing and hopefully long wait for any news concerning Steve's condition. Hopefully it will be good news, that Steve's still alive and kicking. Danny can't imagine what he would do without the guy.

If the surgery's taking long, that means he's alive and he's got a chance.

If the team of doctors and surgeons operating on Steve cut the operation short, it may already be too late for Steve as him dying could be reason for them cutting said surgery short.

It was blatant that Danny was a nervous wreck.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50**

"Danny, you okay?" Chin pursed his lips in genuine concern for his friend.

Danny let out a sigh. "I'm holding on, Chin, as best as I can with my best friend and brother currently undergoing hopefully life- saving surgery." Danny declared in despair and in a distressed tone. Chin pressed Danny's shoulder for a second in silent support as Danny tossed him a grateful glance.

"I need to call Rachel, school lets out in ten minutes. I was supposed to have Grace today but-" He motioned around, barely holding it together. "I can't, not today, not like this. It would scar her for life." Danny swallowed, blinking back tears threatening to roll down his faces.

Danny spun around and proceeded to walk, making his way through the corridors, his head bowed.

Forcing himself to keep it together, trying to keep his emotions restrained, but one thing was clear: Steve was way better at this than him.

Steve could simply shut them off if needed and concentrate on the task at hand.

Danny wasn't able to do that. When he had finally reached the hospital's entrance, he breathed in deeply. Oxygen streamed into his lungs and for a moment he tried to forget about his current predicament, his problems, as he pulled out his phone. He had to call his ex-wife; Danny just hoped that she would not make a scene.

That for once, she would just do what Danny asked her to …

But he did not dare to hope.

In case it would not pan out, nothing on this miserable, horrible Friday morning seemed to work or pan out the way Danny had wanted it to. Steve had been looking forward to seeing them tonight. Danny knows that because he can see it in his partner's eyes that Grace is more than just the child of a coworker to him, that she's 'ohana. They had planned to spend the weekend together at Steve's place. Grace loves that his house has access to the beach and she adores her Uncle Steve. How is Danny supposed to tell her that her Uncle Steve is hurt? He can't fathom what it will feel like for Gracie when she learns the horrible news.

A long moment he just gawked at the cars driving by, people walking toward and from the hospital like it was a normal workday.

But Danny wanted to scream.

It wasn't a typical day, this day was life- changing to him, potentially fatal for someone he loved deeply, he cared for much more than he dared to admit. Danny looked down at the phone in his hands; with a sigh he pressed Rachel's phone number. A dial tone appeared; the sound resounding hollowly in his ears. "Rachel, if you could for once in your life just pick up the damn phone?! I don't have time for this. Steve could be dying, damn it." Tears started flowing again; this was breaking him, completely. Then Rachel's voice reached his ears.

"Daniel, why are you calling me?" Her British accent was apparent.

"You have to pick up Grace at school in ten minutes." She stated, there were voices in the background, Danny figured it was Stan, Rachel's new husband and some other person; she had remarried after their divorce.

"Actually, this is about that."

Danny's voice visibly shook and he took a few seconds to gather himself before continuing to speak to Grace's mother. "You have to get her, Rachel. I can't." Danny took a shuddery breath.

Rachel went silent for a couple of seconds.

"You can't just go and not keep your part of the visitation agreement, Daniel. It was your day, Stan and I are going to an event in downtown Honolulu, it's really important for his business, Daniel." Self- righteously, Rachel explained her reasons for not being able to pick Grace up as if they were the only ones that mattered.

But what about him, about what he needed? Rachel was furious, enraged, how could he refuse to pick her up when he'd moved mountains to keep his visitation rights? She didn't know that he had his reasons for not being able to pick Grace up. "You go pick her up; it's your day, Daniel." Rachel insisted, undeviatingly. Danny scoffed harshly; Rachel is an absolute bitch at times but let's just say a pain in the ass.

"Something happened, Rachel." Danny hesitated.

Probably, Rachel would not get it when she was being so ignorant.

"It's not that I don't want to, Rachel. It is that I physically cannot take Grace today. Get that through your impenetrable skull, okay?"

Rachel frowned, "What's gotten into you, Danny?" She questioned, still not getting the point.

"She's still your daughter." Danny had enough.

"Rachel, shut up and listen."

"Daniel, I ..." Rachel interfered but Danny refused; no one could out- rant him, particularly not Rachel. Steve's injured, critically, he's in surgery right now after having been in a car accident, he's dying, Rachel. I can't. Not today. Pick her up, please?" Danny was basically at the point of crying. Normally his ex -wife was just irritating and disturbing and bothersome, annoying as hell but right now he cannot take any more, he simply can't.

"Okay, Daniel." Rachel's voice had changed significantly after she had learned about what had happened.

It was understandable that Danny was in no position to take care of Grace right now.

"I'll take Grace. She'll want to know why you can't come pick her up." Rachel replied coolly and steely, "She's gonna notice something's up, especially since it was your turn of picking her up, Danny." Rachel added with a deep sigh. She felt for him, she did but this did interrupt her plans. Danny inhaled and exhaled, before telling points to Rachel.

"Don't tell her about Steve, Rachel. I'll tell her." Danny tiredly informed while dropping down on a bench located in the shadows, brushing his hand over his face.

"I hope your friend makes it. Bye, Daniel." Silence on the other end.

"Tell Gracie Danno loves her," Danny added, on the verge of crying once again. Then the conversation ended, the call ended as soon as Rachel had disconnected the line.

Danny didn't know how but he made his way back to where Chin and Kono were waiting, heavy steps resounding on the grey linoleum. He stared into their faces, was met with the same exhausted and worried faces, "Any news?" He took a gander at the big clock on the wall, it seemed like the time would not pass. But as someone had once said to him, no news is good news. It means they're still operating and that Steve's alive, still.

That's what Danny held onto right now, and that LCDR Steven J. McGarrett is not the one backing away from a fight.

Steve will win this one, he had to.

The other option was too terrifying to even imagine. Wearily, Kono shook her head mutely.

Chin grasped her hand in quiet support.

"I just wish someone would tell us something." Danny murmured to himself; pain evident in his voice. Clumsily, he stiffly dropped down on a vacant chair.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50**

"He'll make it. He has to." Danny kept saying it like a mantra, holding onto hope that it would turn out to be true. Kono and Chin exchanged worried looks. They had been sitting in the waiting area for quite a few hours on end now. Slowly but steadily the lack of news became unnerving, worrying. But that so much time had passed also meant that Steve was still alive, fighting, that there was a chance of him getting through this.

Then after some harrowing waiting time, Steve's surgeon entered the waiting room.

"Family of Commander Steven J. McGarrett?" The surgeon glanced at the waiting people sitting the chairs, waiting for news on their loved ones. Danny was up within seconds, needing to know how his best friend, his brother is doing.

Danny's heart was beating hollowly in his chest, but he was hopeful for good news.

They needed some good news.

"Doc, how is Steve?" Danny immediately demanded as soon as he laid eyes on the exhausted, weary features of the surgeon who had entered the waiting area, the detective has to know how Steve is doing. The surgeon's facial expression was grim which intensified the growing anxiety and fear rising up Danny.

Danny listened to the doctor, tearing up as the list of injuries and possible complications grew larger and larger.

"The commander is currently in the recovery room. He made it through the surgery albeit barely. He had a lacerated liver from which we had to remove part of but we managed to salvage it. With time it will regrow to its normal size. Unfortunately, we had to remove the spleen as the organ was too damaged. We were able to get the abdominal hemorrhage under control." The surgeon began listing Steve's injuries.

"Call him Steve." Danny whispered; his voice barely loud enough to hear.

"We also discovered a slight tear in Steve's intestine which we repaired. There's a risk of infection, namely sepsis and peritonitis. We flushed the abdomen but there's still an increased risk. The next hours are going to be crucial for his survival. We are hopeful that he won't contract an infection but be prepared because it might happen."

 _In case it does_ , seemed the unspoken message here.

Shocked silence at first as the surgeon dropped a bombshell on them.

The doctor, dressed in scrubs, paused to let his patient's relatives catch on, giving them time to process what they just heard.

"Oh no ..." Danny staggered backwards when he heard the horrific, horrible news.

"There's more." The surgeon added, indicating that there are more grievous and frightful news to come on top of the ones that were just delivered, dumped on them.

"He was bleeding rather extensively; however, we were able to stop the bleeding. We are currently giving him blood transfusions to replenish the blood he lost. He also suffered cardiac complications during surgery which complicated the surgery."

Danny's heart raced, surely if he was connected to a cardiac monitor it would show a fast heart rate, due to fear and worry. The desire to see, to touch his brother, to make sure he was still alive, became more prominent with each minute passing. "Cardiac complications?" Danny's voice quivered and Kono gripped Chin's hand harder. "Steve arrested twice during the procedure, possibly due to the contusion or it might also be related to the circulatory shock and the blood loss. We just don't know."

Three shocked gasps were the response to that.

"He's alive. We got him back relatively quickly after the first cardiac arrest. The second traumatic arrest was more challenging as it took several goes with the defibrillator and medications to restore spontaneous circulation. Right now, we have him on medication to support his heart and are closely monitoring him for further problems down the road."

Shock painted on the faces of the remaining team members of Five-0 as they realized what they had just been told.

Steve had gone into cardiac arrest.

Not once.

 _Twice_.

Feeling his legs weakening, Danny stumbled over to the chair lined up against the wall thinking about Steve, while slumping down on the nearest chair. "Danny?" A familiar voice said Danny's name but the update he had just received. Hours ago he had been talking to Steve, engaged in their banter and now he was barely hanging on, clinging onto life. That was hard for Danny to hear and cope with.

Danny felt a hand on his shoulder but he couldn't bring himself to look up.

Chin breathed out sharply as he took in Danny, the sudden paleness of his skin clearly visible.

He knew Chin and Kono were concerned at his lack of response but he needed time to process, so that the dizzying feeling clouding his brain would disappear as would the black dots impairing his vision.

"You alright, brah?" The Hawaiian questioned, his tone definitely concerned.

"Jus' give me a minute here, Chin." Danny gave back, eyes still closed.

"Detective Williams?" Another voice called his name, the surgeon had, much to his luck, also detected the greyish pallor of his face. Danny still felt a bit off so he kept his eyes closed for the time being while he waited for the fuzziness to disappear.

Danny figured it was the doctor. "Danny? You okay?"

" 'm fine. I have to see Steve." Danny opened his eyes again, his eyes fluttering as they slowly adjusted to the bright lights in the hospital's waiting room. Danny could feeling Chin and Kono keeping a watchful eye on him. Even Steve's surgeon glanced at the paling detective, worried that Danny might experience some physical backlash from the emotionally traumatic update Danny had just received.

Danny was feeling a bit better, not like he would pass out any minute now.

"I'm good, guys. There's no need to worry."

 _Worry about Steve_ , Danny thought to himself. _I, myself, am just fine. Just, you know, peachy,_ Danny's now being sarcastic and the opposite of being honest.

He's the one in trouble right now.

"Can I see Steve?" Danny wanted to know, slowly breathing in and out. "Steve is currently in recovery. You will have to wait until he is settled in surgical intensive care unit." The doctor replied. "Please, I need to see him." The blonde got up fast, too fast as he would soon find out, and that the hard way. He wobbled dangerously and only due to the combined efforts of Kono, Chin and the doctor he did not face plant all the way on the ground.

As the blackness cleared from his view Danny stared up at the ceiling, to left and to the right of him where white hospital walls, confused as to why he was laying on the ground.

"Danny?" A face hovered over him.

"G' 'way." Danny got out, only partially aware of his surroundings.

"Detective Williams, can you hear me?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Pohā**

"Can I see Steve?" Danny wanted to know, slowly breathing in and out.

"Steve is currently in recovery. You will have to wait until he is settled in surgical intensive care unit." The doctor replied. "Please, I need to see him." The blonde got up fast, too fast as he would soon find out, and that the hard way. He wobbled dangerously and only due to the combined efforts of Kono, Chin and the doctor he did not face plant all the way on the ground.

As the blackness cleared from his view Danny stared up at the ceiling, to left and to the right of him where white hospital walls, confused as to why he was laying on the ground.

"Danny?" A face hovered over him.

"G' 'way." Danny got out, only partially aware of his surroundings.

"Detective Williams, can you hear me?"

He felt a hand grabbing his wrist, a person presumably feeling his pulse. Chin held Kono back who at this point had tears running down her face. First Steve and now Danny? It was too much to fully comprehend. "Can I get some help in here?" The doctor yelped out, seconds later a nurse rushed in, followed by another one.

Steve's primary looked up and ordered, not very concerned: "Can you bring a gurney, please? We need to get him checked out."

"Sure thing." The nurse whose name tag said Lilly, nodded helpfully and disappeared into the hallway again. The other nurse stayed to help calm down Danny who began regaining awareness and therefore became more combatant.

Chin gave Kono a nudge. She understood and nodded, barely noticeable.

"Danny, it is okay, let them help you."

Suddenly, Kono kneeled down next to him, grasping his hand in hers.

And sure enough, her actions seemed to have a positive effect on the barely conscious and now confused detective who was extremely worried about his best friend and brother right now, something that was understandable considering the situation they were currently in.

Danny's half opened eyes fluttered open, weakly, trying to focus on Kono.

"We are here. Just let them do their thing."

Her cousin stayed in the background as too many people would surely be counterproductive right now in this situation.

She ran her hand through his hair in a soothing motion.

The continuing motion calmed Danny down noticeably so that they could assess his condition here on the ground as best as possible.

"Let the docs make sure you are fit to see Steve when he's ready."

Kono continued to mumble assuring words to Danny.

Danny's eyes slipped closed again after some time; that exhausted was he. Exhaustion was visible on his features, his pale face and the tiredness.

It was visible to all of them, the doctor as well as to the cousins. Minutes later, Danny was lifted onto the gurney with the help of two nurses and doctor, and was then promptly transported to emergency department where an intravenous access in his hand was started so that they could start pushing fluids.

Chin and Kono stayed back, just now realizing what had happened.

"Chin." Kono whispered.

"He'll be okay, Kono. Both of them will be okay."

Chin had to believe that otherwise he would make himself crazy worrying.

But that did not change the fact that everything was as shitty as it was. In the cubicle in the busy emergency department, a three car- pileup had just come in, causing a lot of organized hectic to arise. Thankfully, Danny would receive good medical care that he needed to get back on his feet. "Lilly, can you start an IV?" Major Owens questioned after seeing the readout the cardiac monitor displayed in regards to Danny's blood pressure.

Seconds later, Lilly glanced up, saying: "IV access is in."

"Good."

The doctor finished the electrocardiogram; there were no apparent concerns or anomalies which was great news. His heart rate was a bit fast, though.

But that was about it.

"Hang a bolus of saline to rehydrate him." Steve's primary concluded his assessment, his findings showing Danny to be slightly dehydrated and that coupled with his exhaustion and constant worry about his patient has led to his collapse in the waiting room.

After that, the nurse took an IV bag containing saline.

She connected it to Danny's intravenous access, the line snaking down into the crook of his forearm. The cardiac monitor showed a steady rate that as they infusion neared its end became a bit slower, less fast albeit it had taken a while to get to that point. Danny's pulse slowed down to a normal pulse rate.

Major Owens seemed to view this as a satisfactory result.

A slight smile on his face, he once again checked the man laying on the gurney before returning to the waiting room where Kono and Chin anxiously waited for news on Danny. Danny's collapse after receiving the daunting update about Steve's unstable condition had a definite impact on them, especially with Danny in need of medical treatment as well.

"Family of Detective Danny Williams?"

Steve's doctor entered the waiting, instantly seeing the cousins worriedly perched on two seats in the corner of the room, angst written all over their faces.

At the mention of Danny's name both jumped up.

As soon as Kono and Chin saw the doctor reenter to break the news about Danny, after some other agonizing half hour, his face told them it was good news.

Please no more bad news, Kono begged internally.

Next to her she could feel that Chin was on edge, concerned about the stubborn, caring, hot- headed natured but fiercely loyal detective. Kono took a deep breath, to regain composure before the doctor started getting them up to speed on Danny's current status.

What had caused him to faint, pass out in the first place, although the reasons were pretty damn obvious?

Considering Steve is in post- anesthesia care unit in critical condition; that Steve's primary was waiting for the anesthesia to wear off so that he'd be stable enough for a transfer to the intensive care unit? "What's wrong with Danny?" Chin asked, keeping his voice calm despite the rising worry inside. He kept his voice steady and composed.

"Detective Williams is resting comfortably in a bed in the emergency department." The doctor explained as he saw the exhausted faces of Danny's and Steve's family.

Relaxing discernably, Kono breathed out.

But there was more, and both she and Chin had perceived that.

"He's exhausted and overtired, that coupled with the mild dehydration led to the detective passing out. He's on IV fluids right now to rehydrate him. We have given him medication that should allow him to sleep and get adequate rest." The doctor paused, glancing at them in a serious matter. "Detective Williams needs rest, especially with your friend's current condition. It is imperative that he takes care of himself."

Chin nodded, furrowing his brows. "Doc, will Danny be alright?"

The police lieutenant needed an answer to that question; a question that he was aware was on both his and Kono's minds.

"With proper rest and hydration he should be." Major Owens confirmed.

Kono had a hesitant smile on her face, worry still lining her features and Chin grasped her hand for silent support. Kono threw him a thankful glance. "However, I am inclined to admit him for the night to make sure the detective rests up. He'll be settled in a normal room shortly. A nurse will bring you there." Then out of sudden, his pager goes off with a loud wailing sound, indicating that he was needed somewhere, urgently.

"Williams will be alright. I got to go." With that, the doctor hurriedly rushed through the hallway, leaving Kono and Chin to their thoughts.

Both exchanged worried glances, thinking the same thing.

What if it was Steve?

What if the patient he was paged for is their team leader, their friend, part of their tightly knit Five-0 'ohana?

It was a real possibility that the doc was paged for him, seeing as he was Steve's primary physician. Kono focused on the clock ticking, trying to think about anything but what might be happening to Steve, and Danny. However, Danny would be okay with rest and IV fluids, and then as a preventive measure drinking water more regularly.

However, Steve's recovery was still unsure, to be determined. Steve could be okay or he could die.

"Kono." Chin said softly, knowing what his cousin was thinking.

"McGarrett's tough, he will make it through this." Chin had to admit he was not that sure, somehow he had a bad feeling about this but he sure as hell wouldn't add to Kono's concerns about Steve's odds at recuperating and being fine.

"Lieutenant Kelly, Officer Kalakaua, I am here to bring you to Danny Williams' room."

The nurse led the way, to a room on the ward at the end of the hallway. When Chin and Kono entered the room, they saw Danny sleeping. "He's still sleeping; it is what's best for him at this time." The nurse offered as she checked the infusion rate, adjusted the drop rate a bit before turning back to the cousins standing at the foot of the bed.

Danny woke up from a much- needed sleep.

He had slept for about four hours, without waking up.

Chin and Kono had remained by his side; much to their joint disappointment the cousins hadn't been allowed to visit Steve who has been moved to intensive care unit because Steve's condition had been classified as too critical for visitors, at least for now. But Steve's _ohana_ had to wait until the commander was settled there. Knowing the detective, the cousins were aware that despite the common knowledge that Danny was in desperate need of some rest and sleep he would demand to see Steve as soon as he wakes up.

Spiked with worry, Danny pushed himself up on his elbows; propped up to gaze at his surroundings.

Immediately, Danny recognizes the sterile, white walls as the ones of the ward of Tripler Army Medical Center. Additionally, the smell of disinfectant provides a clue as to where he is.

 _Steve._

 _Where's Steve? What the heck am I doing in a hospital bed?_

 _Did that Neanderthal animal get me shot again? Wait, no; that cannot be because I don't feel like I have any holes in me, so that means I have not been shot._

Danny's brain took some time to fully wake up and function.

A second later, Steve's name flashed through his mind and Danny remembers why he is here, at the military hospital and also why Steve is not here. Because if Danny had gotten hurt on the job, Steve would always sit by his bed, always and probably also blaming himself for what had happened. But not this time. This time, he was staring into the worried faces of Chin and Kono which begs the question what the hell happened to Steve and why the cousins look like they have not slept in ages. Chin stops his attempts by placing a warning hand on his chest. "You need rest, Danny." Chin softly explained. "You passed out when Steve's doc came out to update us. You gave us quite a scare, Danny."

"Chin's right." Danny turned his head to his favorite rookie.

"Steve needs you. You can't be there for him to help with his recovery when you are in the hospital as well, Danny." Kono chimed in, her brows creased in concern. "Right now you are, Danny." Kono threw him a pointed glance, crossing her arms over her chest. Danny did not seem like any of Chin or Kono's words had reached him, at least not really.

But the tension didn't leave Danny's body.

However he complied to his teammates' demands and lay back, still exhausted from the stress and all what had happened.

With unsteady and uncoordinated movements, Danny fumbled around on his IV, attempting to disconnect it. Kono saw these attempts. She put a stop to them by placing her hand over Danny's. "Leave the IV access, Danny. Doc says you need fluids." Danny frowned, unhappy about the newest developments. He wanted that thing out, needed to see Steve.

"Steve?" Danny questioned swallowing, scared of what he might get to hear, still very tired.

Yet, Danny had to ask about Steve.

"No news, we're still waiting. He should have been moved to intensive care by now." Chin offered, running his hand over the bed's mattress nervously, in a distressed motion. Danny wearily eyed them, still wanting to know about Steve.

But even the cousins had no information on Steve.

Had not been able to see him, Danny moved around on the bed, restlessly, the intravenous access in his hand irritated him.

But the blonde detective was still receiving fluids through the infusion.

"You're on fluids, Danny. The doctors said you have a mild case of dehydration." Kono answered his unspoken question, reading it in Danny's eyes.

His face was still paler than normal but all in all, the Jersey detective looked healthier than he did on the floor in the waiting room shortly before kissing consciousness goodbye. Danny settled for grabbing the remote that controls the bed, pressing a button to elevate it so that he can talk face to face with his friends and teammates.

"Can you call someone to get me out of here?" Danny questioned, there was a hopeful look in his eyes. But his hopes were shattered when both Chin and Kono shook their head simultaneously. "Doc said you have to stay the night."

Chin broke the news.

As expected Danny did not take the news about staying a night very well.

"What?" Danny yelled.

Raising his voice a bit more than he should have. "You are the one who says that it is not a wise call to check out AMA. So maybe just accept that you are stuck here for the night?" Kono suggested with a roll of her eyes.

He's always nagging Steve about leaving the hospital too early and against medical advice when right now he wants to do the same. Although, the circumstances are bit different. Chin let out a small chuckle as he sees Kono reminding Danny about Steve signing out against medical advice and what his opinion is on that. Danny sat up, ignoring the bout of dizziness rising up in him as he positioned himself in sitting position.

Danny glared at the cousins.

"Hey, don't look at us. It was the doctor who had you admitted overnight, Danny. Doc says you need to rest." Chin uttered, trying to provide an explanation that Danny could understand provided he is not too furious. With a deep sigh, Danny relaxed and agreed to staying

"Fine, I will stay overnight. But I want to see Steve."

Danny gazed down at his hands, seeing the IV access; he traced the line up to the intravenous solution dripping into the line.

"I need to see him." Danny said with insistence.

Back in his mind, Danny was aware that it was not up to him, that it was up to the doctor to decide whether or not Steve was stable enough to receive visitors. Seeing as Steve was probably in the intensive care unit, the amount of visitors allowed in intensive care unit surely will be restricted, probably only one person at a time. "I will even take the wheelchair, gladly, if it will help me get to visit Steve." Danny tried to convince the cousins that he would play by the hospital's rules.

The knowledge of Steve being severely injured constantly on his mind, crushing down on his heart. Kono and Chin exchanged glances.

"Uh, we're not sure if it is possible." Kono started, eyes darting between Danny and Chin.

Danny made motions to get out of bed. "Danny, no." Kono knew the detective simply wanted to go see Steve, to assure himself that the _big kahuna_ is still alive. "I will get Major Owens; let him decide whether or not you can see Steve. After you have seen him, you will rest." Kono said resolutely, with a sigh Danny let himself fall back into the pillows. Knowing Kono was being serious and not even considering backing down Danny agreed to the offered deal.

At least, that way there was a chance of him getting to see Steve.

"So I hear you are awake."

Major Owens smiled as he entered Danny's hospital room.

"I feel fine. This really wasn't necessary." Danny grumbled as he met the doctor's sharp glance, pointing to intravenous access. "It was indeed necessary, Detective Williams. You were mildly dehydrated, together with the exhaustion it resulted in your sudden loss of consciousness." The doctor replied as he took another look at Danny's vitals.

"Aha."

Danny shrugged noncommittally.

"You look a lot better than last time I saw you, detective."

Chin couldn't help but suppress a grin. Danny's face expression was pure gold.

"Just call me Danny." Danny pushed himself up. "I need to see my partner."

"First tell me how you feel?"

Danny batted away any attempts to assure that well doing alright. He wanted to see Steve. "I feel fine." Danny avoided the annoying question. Patiently the doctor said: "Danny, the commander is doing as well as can be expected considering the circumstances.

"Can I see him?"

Hope in his voice.

Danny drew his lower lip between his teeth, nervous.

Anxious about seeing Steve.

The doctor heaved a sigh. Danny tensed his muscles, preparing for the worse. Moments before he would completely and totally lose it the doctor replied with stern voice: "I will probably regret this later but I will let you visit." Danny's heart raced as he continued.

"For a short time." The doctor added, to assure that Steve would get the much- needed rest.

 **H50 H50 H50 H50**

The doctor turned to the small group who seemed eager to visit his patient.

Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, his patient, was barely stable, still on the critical- list, in need of close observation and treatment in an intensive care unit setting.

"Let me break down the ground rules." No one dared to dissent as the commanding voice of Major Owens cut through the quiet. Not even the fiery detective who has gone quiet as the had passed the double doors and entered the intensive care unit.

Silence.

Complete and utter silence.

"Five minutes, each of you." Major Owens emphasized the importance of that.

"Then it's back to bed for you, detective. I mean it."

From the looks on the Major's face Danny could see that he meant it. Sternly, Major Owens glanced at Danny and the cousins. "Yeah, I understand. We'll only stay for five minutes." Chin promised, also eager to see their friend. As Chin, Kono and Danny who was a bit grumpy despite having previously agreed on using the wheelchair, stood in the hallway in the intensive care unit, Major Owens went in first to check on Steve without anyone gawking over his shoulder. "Wait here until I finish conducting tests on the commander."

Danny was sitting in the wheelchair as hospital policy demanded.

He waited impatiently for the go ahead as he watched the doctor performing tests on Steve. He was desperate to see his partner so Danny impatiently scooted around, trying to keep himself busy. "If he's awake do not keep him up for too long. The commander needs his rest."

"We understand." Chin nodded, throwing a glance at the detective who had said little.

"Danny?"

Major Owens concluded his rules, questioning Danny who seemed a little beside himself. "I'd never do anything to endanger Steve."

Defensively, Danny crossed his arms over his chest.

"Can we go see him now?" Steve's primary doctor nodded slightly, allowing them to enter Steve's room, allowing Danny to be by Steve's side, Danny desperately needed that. "I mean it. I won't hesitate to kick you out of this unit until further notice." That alone was threat enough for Danny.

The detective nodded, his hands tightly gripping onto the wheelchair.

A slight dizzying rush overcame him and Danny was glad that he had agreed to use the wheelchair. He pressed his eyes closed, waited for the dizziness to abate.

Much to his relief, the annoying feeling soon disappeared.

The glass door slid open and closed after the three of them entered, two of them walking into the room. The light was slightly dimmed. Kono escaped a loud gasp as she took in Steve laying there, motionless. Without wasting anymore time, Danny quickly settled by Steve's side, taking Steve's hand into his own, stunned by the coldness of Steve's fingers.


End file.
